The likelihood or not of the community center at the mall is irrelevant to which option is chosen. It is equally likely or unlikely with C as with E, or with any of the D options.
On Fri, Dec 1, 2023 at 2:38 PM Karla Gravis <karlagra...@gmail.com> wrote: > Why would including the Community Center as part of the mall be a "project > killer"? We could sign a 10/20/30 year lease. Wouldn't a developer jump at > the chance to have a stable tenant instead of having to deal with constant > retail turnover? Or is this comment an indictment of the viability of any > commercial space at the Mall area? > > According to the town's economic feasibility study, a developer could > consider charging ~$3 per sqft in monthly rent. For a 10,000 sqft CC, that > would mean $360K in yearly rent. Compare that to the town's yearly debt > service payment of $0.77M - $1.54M for the proposed CC designs. The > savings come from the fact that public buildings are much more costly to > build than what private developments cost. > > In relation to the argument that the CC cannot be in the mall area because > of LEAP, there is no need to have LEAP move to the mall. Remodeling Pod C > (where LEAP is currently hosted) has been estimated at $3.5M. The non-LEAP > portion of the community center designs being put to vote will be costing > the town $12.5M - $21.5M. If the annual cost of the community center is > $360k instead of $1M+, there will surely be some left to renovate LEAP. > > To be clear, this is not Civico's plan for the mall. If Option C is > chosen, this synergistic combination will likely not happen. However, with > Option E, this could very much be part of the project presented to the > Town. We could tap TCB (The Community Builders - pun intended) to build a > community center and truly affordable housing. > > > >> >> On Fri, Dec 1, 2023 at 12:47 Paul Shorb <paul.sh...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> The CCBC has an FAQ linked here >>> <https://lincolncommunitycenter.com/2022/11/11/why-would-the-community-center-be-on-the-hartwell-campus/> >>> that explains >>> why the community center should be located at Hartwell campus (as the Town >>> has voted to approve multiple times) rather than at the Mall. >>> >>> Putting a community center at the Town center would be much more >>> expensive, if it could be accomplished at all. As I noted in another >>> post just now, shared spaces are efficient, since (A) seniors tend to >>> use the facilities in the day and (B) school children do so in the later >>> afternoon, walking from the school buildings to participate in Lincoln's >>> Parks & Rec programs or LEAP. Building a separate community center at >>> the town center would still leave the town with the need to renovate the >>> spaces that would remain at Hartwell; I have heard the estimate of about >>> $3.5 million for each of three pods at Hartwell. >>> >>> Also, I'm not sure how a community center at the Town center could >>> actually be achieved. The Town center does not have sufficient >>> available Town-owned space to build a community center. You therefore >>> suggested including the Community Center as a required accessory use in >>> the development of a future residential project at Lincoln Station. >>> However, despite the rosy theory provided by your urban planning contact, >>> that >>> sounds like a project-killer to me. >>> >>> Dealing with climate change is a big motivator for me. That pushes me in >>> the direction of Option C, much more than getting a community center >>> somehow forced into a future development of the Mall. If I'm right that >>> "required >>> accessory use" would be a project-killer, then we would thus not only >>> fail to get a community center built there, but also fail to get the >>> Mall redeveloped with higher-density near the rail stop and shopping, >>> which would be the biggest potential climate win here. >>> >>> Paul Shorb >>> (a member of the RLF Board but expressing my personal views here) >>> >>> On Fri, Dec 1, 2023 at 7:54 AM Ken Hurd <kenh...@keha.com> wrote: >>> >>>> Hello LincolnTalkers, >>>> With apologies for expressing yet again my strongly held opinion as an >>>> architect concerned with what we build in Lincoln, I want to remind >>>> everyone why I and many others believe we should not build a community >>>> center on the school campus. I still believe it should be located in >>>> Lincoln Station, particularly now that our small commercial area is in play >>>> because of the Housing Choice Act. >>>> >>>> As I wrote last year, "I fully support building a new facility, but it >>>> has long been my opinion that such a major investment by the town should be >>>> deployed where it is most needed - namely in the Lincoln Station area. For >>>> more than ten years since Town Meeting approved the Comprehensive Long >>>> Range Plan, in which the revitalization of Lincoln Station was >>>> overwhelmingly one of the highest priorities, the area has lain dormant and >>>> in serious need of a catalyst to jumpstart its transformation into the >>>> compact, vital, walkable village center that was a stated goal at the >>>> time. A community center in such a location would be the equivalent of an >>>> anchor store in a retail setting, and by virtue of attracting more people >>>> on a regular basis, it would create more opportunities for a clustered >>>> cross-current of activities spawning greater social interaction." >>>> >>>> As many will recall at last year’s Town Meeting, there was serious >>>> concern about the cost to build it, and I am of the opinion that there are >>>> better ways to accomplish this than spending anywhere from $18 to $24 >>>> million of taxpayer money to do so. As was recently suggested to me by an >>>> experienced urban planner, why not include the Community Center as a >>>> required accessory use in the development of a future residential >>>> project at Lincoln Station? >>>> >>>> As he said, “With clear program requirements and project parameters to >>>> guide the design of a new project, developers can be very efficient in >>>> realizing a good project on time and within budget.” Moreover, “It >>>> would be a plus to any potential developer's proforma to have a confirmed >>>> tenant (assuming COA long-term lease) for … an active community use in >>>> purposely designed ground level space. This strategy would minimize the >>>> cost to Lincoln upfront financing for design and construction, replace >>>> public project inefficiencies with professional development expertise, and >>>> as such the new Community Center facility may be more affordable to the >>>> town's stressed taxpayers." >>>> >>>> As I also wrote last year, I believe it would constitute the classic >>>> suburban planning error to create a new facility that stands alone at the >>>> school and, like the suburban mall, accessible only by car. In addition, >>>> because of school protocols, there would be very limited inter-generational >>>> co-mingling until after school hours, if at all. And, even if there >>>> weren’t a greater awareness about the effects of climate change, wouldn’t >>>> it make far more sense to locate a community center where there are already >>>> other crucial services such as the post office, grocery store, cleaners, a >>>> cafe and restaurant, not to mention the potential for more housing? >>>> >>>> Earlier this week I wrote the Selects about including an option to vote >>>> for “None of the Above” at tomorrow’s Town Meeting. Absent any response, I >>>> plan to vote for Option 3 ($12.5 million project cost) that has already >>>> been characterized as not sufficient to provide services comparable to what >>>> we already have at Bemis. >>>> >>>> Please join me in rejecting the more expensive options 1 and 2 in order >>>> to redirect our efforts to take advantage of this moment in time to be far >>>> more creative, innovative and holistic in how we design and fund a >>>> Community Center that can also help transform Lincoln Station to its full >>>> potential as a truly vital, walkable village center. Remember, >>>> >>>> we humans *shape our environments* at a moment in time, >>>> >>>> and *then they shape us* for decades to come. >>>> >>>> Respectfully, >>>> Ken Hurd >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>>> To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. >>>> Browse the archives at >>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >>>> Change your subscription settings at >>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >>>> >>>> -- >>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>> To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. >>> Browse the archives at >>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >>> Change your subscription settings at >>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >>> >>> -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > >
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